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Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Soldiers of (Ill) Fortune

Lisa Myers over at MSNBC (yeah, I know), tells of more rumblings of discontent:

There are new allegations that heavily armed private security contractors in Iraq are brutalizing Iraqi civilians. In an exclusive interview, four former security contractors told NBC News that they watched as innocent Iraqi civilians were fired upon, and one crushed by a truck. The contractors worked for an American company paid by U.S. taxpayers. The Army is looking into the allegations.

The four men are all retired military veterans: Capt. Bill Craun, Army Rangers; Sgt. Jim Errante, military police; Cpl. Ernest Colling, U.S. Army; and Will Hough, U.S. Marines. All went to Iraq months ago as private security contractors.

"I went there for the money," says Hough.

"I'm a patriot," says Craun.

"You can't turn off being a soldier," says Colling.

They worked for an American company named Custer Battles, hired by the Pentagon to conduct dangerous missions guarding supply convoys. They were so upset by what they saw, three quit after only one or two missions.

"What we saw, I know the American population wouldn't stand for," says Craun.

Or would they? The other day I saw a pickup truck with a handpainted sign on the back bumper, underneath all of the God Bless America and United We Stand and W stickers that said “Annihilation, not Negotiation.” Thankfully, the truck was parked and I didn’t meet the owner and decorator.

Somehow, though, I don’t think most Americans would accept what these mercenaries are doing with their money. And the boulder keeps getting heavier.

Mercs who can’t even stomach what they see our tax dollars doing. And part of the billions that aWol is asking for will pay for more. Is the public willfully blind? What’s next? Peace and justice seem so very far away...